Writing
Intent
At Bledlow Ridge School we believe literacy and speaking are key life skills. Our writing curriculum supports children to develop their spoken language skills and then apply them to their writing, across a range of genres, through teaching composition, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling. We endeavour to prepare all pupils for a successful transition to secondary school as confident, creative writers with high standards of spoken and written English. We aim to support all children to develop into articulate and imaginative communicators, who are well-equipped with the skills they need to become life-long learners.
Our teachers are enthusiastic and passionate, and model high expectations, providing all children with the tools and knowledge necessary to become successful writers. By modelling high standards of writing, we aim for each child to grow as a confident and independent writer, who is able to analyse and edit their own work to ensure it is effective and appropriate for the audience and purpose. We strive to ensure that English is enjoyed by all pupils and that it challenges them to be creative and produce high-quality pieces of writing.
Implementation
At Bledlow Ridge School our pupils are stimulated by a wide range of books which support them in writing for different purposes and for a range of audiences. These books are carefully selected by teachers to ensure they link into our topics and continue to encourage our pupils love for reading. This allows us to teach the characteristics of different genres, features of layout and presentation effectively. Teaching is planned so that grammar and punctuation is taught in the context of the individual literacy units as set out in the National Strategies for English. We have a whole school medium term plan document which ensures that a sufficient progression of skills and genres are taught as the children move through the school. Teachers model the process of writing to ensure children produce high quality pieces of work. Children are given daily feedback and scaffolds where appropriate: we believe that ‘in the moment’ feedback is the most effective way to allow children to make immediate progress. Children are taught and encouraged to independently edit their work using purple pens. We differentiate and support each child to ensure that they are challenged to make excellent progress. Teachers seek to take advantage of opportunities to make cross-curricular links. They plan for pupils to practise and apply the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired through English lessons to other areas of the curriculum. Opportunities to use computing to support teaching and learning in English lessons are planned for and used as appropriate.
Impact
Our children are creative and enthusiastic writers. They are engaged in lessons and produce high-quality writing which incorporates ambitious vocabulary. Through their time at the school, their communication skills are strengthened, and children make good progress. The outcome of writing at the end of Key Stage 2 is above national. Through establishing strong writing skills, children are more equipped to access the entire curriculum and transition to secondary school with confidence in their own ability.